By Zeke Jenningse-mail Zeke
If you enjoy hotstove rumors, there is a good one coming out of Iowa City.
Growing rumors have Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, a native of Royal Oak, Mich., as the new head man at Michigan.
Ferentz's name popped up as a possible candidate once Lloyd Carr announced his retirement, although most felt he would be a second-tier choice if the frontrunners, namely Les Miles of LSU, passed on the job.
Other than Ferentz having a history with current Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman (she was the president at Iowa when Ferentz was hired in 1998), there isn't a lot of reasons to think he would be Michigan's first choice.
After going 1-10 in his first season in Iowa City, Ferentz built the Hawkeyes into a national power, winning 21 games from 2002-04, but hasn't reached anywhere near that success since.
The Hawkeyes have gone 7-5, 6-7 and now 6-6, including a season-ending home loss to a middle-the-pack MAC team in Western Michigan.
Furthermore, Iowa has endured several off-the-field problems under Ferentz's watch, something highly frowned upon by the brass and alumni in Ann Arbor.
There have been numerous player suspensions and dismissals, as well as a scandal involving team members taking advantage of housing set up for low-income families, which included Frentz's son, Brian.
With the infamous Ed Martin basketball scandal still leaving a bad taste in the mouths of university administration, alumni and fans, Coleman and athletic director Bill Martin had better be sure about hiring Ferentz, considering his checkered past.
The Miles factor
What might make the Ferentz rumors a little more believable is the alleged riff between Carr and Miles, a former Michigan player and assistant coach.
If Carr's opinion is as highly regarded by Martin as he says, then the AD may think twice about hotly pursuing Miles, who has long been rumored to be Carr's successor.
When Carr took over for Gary Moeller in 1995 after Moeller was fired, Miles was the only assistant coach who didn't stay on as part of Carr's staff.
There was also an incident involving current LSU cornerback Jai Eugene, who originally committed to Michigan. Obviously, Carr wasn't happy about Miles stealing his recruit, although it's hard to believe that Carr would try and railroad Miles out of the Michigan job based on that alone. It obviously runs deeper than that.
Carr doesn't trust Miles to run the program he loves.
Although I doubt Carr would ever stoop to publicly saying so, it's been questioned if Bo Schembechler would have endorsed Miles.
Only a select few people inside the Michigan family know the answer to that, but Carr is probably one of them.
Carr said during his retirement press conference that he wants the next coach to uphold the tradition that Schembechler has established -- to win with integrity -- something some saw as a direct shot at Miles.
It's questionable that either Ferentz or Miles can live up to those standards the way Schembechler, or even Carr, did, but Miles still seems like the likely choice.
If Ferentz is already the choice, there has been a lot more going on behind the scenes than we realize.
2 comments:
Wassup Zeke,
I'm posting your link right now. After reading Jim Carty's column, I'm not a fan of Ferentz. I still think Miles would be a good hire, but who knows. Michigan should tread very carefully before making this hire.
How are things at the Cit Pat?
Great post. Miles may be the obvious choice with his UM background and success at LSU, but he inherited the program from Nick Saban. I like Ferentz based on his ability to build the Iowa program and essentially take them from bottom-feeder to a respected team in the Big 10. Recruiting shouldn't be an issue for either guy, but the history of the Michigan program is a key thought when selecting a new coach.
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